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01 March 2011

Harold and the Purple Crayon--The Inside Story

Welcome, welcome to Once Upon a Thread!!!

How very rude of me to be late to my own party. It's mostly my fault, I'll admit, but I had a late night vomiting child, plus some technical difficulty thrown in just to make things even more exciting. I'm glad it's finally here, though!

If you are playing along, make sure you add your projects [1-2 photos of each] to the Once Upon a Thread Flickr group!

Meanwhile, I give you, the inside story of Harold and the Purple Crayon:

This is a fantastic book because, although it is geared toward children, the drawings and verse are witty and enjoyable for adults. Never read it? It's about a boy and his purple crayon who decides to go on an adventure.

He draws his own adventure full of a dragon, picnics, hot air balloon rides, until he decides he just wants to go home.

He can't figure out where home is.

Until he remembers that his window is always around the moon. He makes his bed and draws up the covers.

All in purple crayon.

I love it.

You might be wondering why I would make a wool jacket, a plain, gray wool jacket for a girl who lives in warm weather? Well, sometimes the A/C in buildings during the summer is colder than the winter around here! I made it simple [using an Oliver + S pattern for both the jacket and skirt] so she can wear it with multiple outfits. But what little girl likes plain?

That's where purple ribbon and Wonder Tape [which Lindsay introduced me to during Project Run & Play] comes in. My Divine Grace dress could have used this stuff! What Wonder Tape does is hold things in place without being permanent [water soluble] and without the need for pins. When doing detail work like this, you never know which direction you'll be sewing which makes removing pins the wrong way truly annoying [like drawing with a stubby, broken crayon]!

All it takes is unrolling the tape and removing the paper backing. It is sticky! If I left any portion showing my presser foot would get stuck on it, and though it's not supposed to have this side effect, it did gum up my needle, but all in all, it was my hot air ballon, saving me, and totally worth utilizing. I found mine at Joann's and it's a bit pricey [$6.50], so use your coupons!

Inside the plain, grey jacket I recreated the story of Harold, but with Pearl as the character.

A pocket with a little wooden "crayon" draws a tale for the girl.

The lining* is just cotton, but I did line the sleeves with something slicker to ease in putting it on. I used the same fabric** as her skirt for the collar facing, just because I'm normally not a print kind of girl, but this one batted it's lovely eyelashes at me, and I admit I was smitten.

*The Brunch Jacket pattern does not have a lining included in the pattern, I added it for this project.**echino collection by etsuko furuya for kokka [quiet ground]

A whole building full of windows....

A very hungry moose, helping with leftover picnic pie...

And a Pearl pillow, tucked into bed. I just printed her photo on photo transfer paper and made a long skinny pillow, attached to a ribbon and threaded through an extra large button hole.

The crayon is a bit of dowel, shaved to a point by my rotary dremel, a drilled hole to thread the ribbon and painted PURPLE, of course.

Woohoooo! Once upon a thread has begun. I love the coat! I think it is so neat to have unexpected surprises in the lining. It's like a little secret your daughter will have while wearing the coat - SO precious!! Hmmmmm, I guess when I use Wonder Tape it isn't usually showing so I've never had my presser foot get stuck on it.......very good to know, though!

OK, I read your blog a lot and hardly ever comment. But I cannot get over how cute this is!! The lining of the jacket is amazing with that purple drawing. I have a special soft spot for Harold, my bald baby girl looked a lot like him :)

You are amazing! I mean, seriously! How do you find the time to do such great work with FIVE girls?!? I have three baby blankets I am trying to finish but can't find the time and only have two little ones. My panic attacks for when baby #3 arrives in June have already begun. I seriously want to know how you do it!!

You are so right about it being so cold in the AC,especially in grocery stores and bookstores. When we pack for Florida, I always bring a sweat jacket. This is a beauty (and your little one)and how fun you made the inside!

i remember very distinctly the NEED as a child to trace the lines in the book with my fingers. not just with harold's drawings but whenever there was a line of smoke or of a smell, etc. this coat takes me back and i am just sure i would spend all day tracing that ribbon with my wooden purple crayon! love it love it!

Katy,I love that jacket and the Kindergarden picture below...priceless! I'm looking for patterns for my daughter who is 10 yrs and wears like a size 8 or 10. In particular a good Easter dress for her age. Do you have any favorite pattern makers or know of any for that age/size group. She's too old to do the cutie toddler dresses and too young for the tween but she's ever so much the little fashionista. If you think of something you can email me if you like at laura@busybodiesms.comThanks so much!

Harold and the Purple Crayon is one of my all time favorites. I'm so glad you included the hungry moose. He's one of the best parts (though where is the porcupine?) along with the police officer who isn't much help. I want one in my size.

Harold and the Purple Crayon is one of my favorite books, but I would never in a million years, come up with such a cool jacket! You keep amazing me Katy, You are a true talent!(now I am getting REALLY nervous...)

Are you serious, Katy???? Where do you come up with amazing creation after amazing creation and will you please share some of that genius with me????? Good grief. (And I mean that in the most flattering way possible.)

My grandmother had it along with a bunch of other books at her house for all her great grandchildren to read when they were there. They were not allowed to read Harold and the Purple Crayon. She was convinced it would teach them to draw on the walls. We inherited most of those books when she died, and my (then just over 2 year old) daughter insisted on reading "the purple book" every single day for a month. She still loves it.